Testing Times
by KidFlash13
Summary: Clones can be very useful... sometimes... : ) Rated K( ) for one slightly violent line.


Roy was wrong when he said that he no longer needed Green Arrow and his clone, or at least when he said he no longer needed his clone. Although the copy could never compare to the original in terms of power, especially with Luthor's apology gift, there were still many conventional uses of him that could help the original's life. Begrudgingly, he headed to the clone Harper's apartment. Knocking on the window, not really expecting an answer, Arsenal was surprised to see the man dressed in a reflection of his old costume.

"Red Arrow." He addressed him, regaining his composure the second he lost it.

"Yes?" The man replied, tilting his head as he wondered why the original would come to see him so late at night.

"How would you like to help me out?" Arsenal egotistically asked.

"Right now? I just put Lian to bed-" Roy was interrupted by the sound of a baby's cry. Sighing he put his hand on his forehead in exasperation and motioned for the boy to come inside.

The apartment was dark and had a desperate tone to it, and Arsenal found its view refreshing. At least in his absence, there were still places like these, forever lost until he touched upon them again. His meditations were interrupted by the squeals of Lian as she clung to her daddy's embrace. Frowning at the joyful exclamations, Arsenal turned to see his warped reflection smiling contentedly, as if nothing were wrong with the picture.

"Ahem" he cleared his throat. Red Arrow looked up, the spell of the moment broken.

"Oh, right. What do you need help with?" he asked.

A few brief protests, arguments and compromises later, plans were set for Red Arrow to participate in Arsenal's life.

"Remind me why I agreed to this again?" Red Arrow asked Arsenal.

"You took over my life. It's only fair that you set mine back in balance before continuing your own." Arsenal scowled, wondering if he should trust the elder's IQ.

"Welcome class, to the 2016 PSAT/ National Merit Scholarship Awards Testing. Your participation could prove well enough to produce scholarships and the attention of college-registrars nationwide-" Roy didn't know why he was sweating. It could have been from the fact that he hadn't been to school in years and had forgotten nearly everything, or maybe it was the fact that they could tell he wasn't a 16-year old. The silent once-overs from curious students and disapproving tones from teachers that believed he obstructed the other students' learning only added to his grief.

Throughout the torturous announcement of rules, Roy forgot about the test and began to assess his fellow test-takers. There were the usual idiots he was treated to in high school, lazing about and staring at the walls or snickering with friends across the room. Only a few were actually paying attention to the teacher, or at least pretending to, including a small girl in the back with a fire in her eyes and five perfectly sharpened pencils. Roy sincerely hoped the League of Shadows didn't send her, because it would definitely ruin his younger self's image if he started launching arrows in the middle of a school. Before he could ponder it further, tests were passed out and scantrons were bubbled thoroughly.

'Hey, this isn't so bad… I can-'

"Pencils down."

"What!?" Roy exclaimed.

"Mr. Harper, since I doubt you were paying attention earlier, you only have 25 minutes per section with the exception of the last for 30." Roy stared down at his scantron, that had a measly 9 out of 28 questions answered.

Needless to say, the test resulted in the stressful efforts of Red Arrow and a disgruntled Arsenal when they received a notice saying "Mr. Roy Harper" should consider community jobs instead of college education. Never again did Arsenal come to Red Arrow for help, and both Roys were happy to forge their own separate paths of life, until the elder went out to eat.

"Welcome to McDonald's, how may I slay you?"

**This is not meant to be offensive to anyone with a community-level job; in fact we need more of you all around. Most of this fanfic is based on personal experience and boredom from testing periods. : ) On another note, I wasn't going to continue my Neverland one-shot, but if you want me to make it a one-shot series, feel free to send me a PM or comment.-KF13  
**


End file.
